RTW Budget: Four Countries One Month

The month of January was a busy one for us. We finished our stay in Kiveri, Greece, spent one week in Israel, 10 days in Jordan, and then flew to Bangkok, Thailand. During the month of January, we saw some amazing places and also learned a little about the history along the way.

Mycenae Greece

Dome of the Rock Jerusalem Israel

Wadi Rum Jordan

Giant reclining Buddha Bangkok Thailand

So how did we do with visiting so many places? Sadly to say this has been our worst month yet since starting our around the world adventure. Our total expenditures for the month of January were $5,791.06 or $186.81 per day or $62.27 per person per day. Yep, you read that right. We didn’t even come close to our budget of $100 per day.

Several things contributed to us going over budget including a big jump from the Middle East to SE Asia and some splurges like spending 2 nights in a Bedouin camp and 2 nights on the Dead Sea in a resort. We were also caught off guard by how expensive Israel was, which I will detail later in this post.

Transportation

Not surprisingly our biggest expenditure for January was for transportation given we had a big jump from the Middle East to SE Asia. Our total expenditures for transportation were $2,107.52.

While in Kiveri, Greece, we rented a car. Most of the car rental cost is reflected on lasts month budget. But for a matter of convenience we kept the car an extra day for a total of $20.40, which is reflected in this budget. The total fuel cost was $116 and tolls were $33.50.

We flew from Athens to Tel Aviv, Israel. The cost of the flight was $320.83. We took a shared van from Tel Aviv, Israel to Jerusalem for a total of $55.59 and then the bus from Jerusalem to Eilat, Israel for a total of $65.78.

Due to the lack of consistent buses in Jordan and after looking at the cost of taxis, we decided to rent a car during our time in Jordan. A 10-day car rental in Jordan cost us $293. We also had to pay a hefty one-way rental fee of $49.44 to return the car at Amman airport as we picked it up initially in Aqaba. Our total fuel expenditure was $41.74 and we did not have to pay any tolls while in Jordan. Overall, driving in Jordan was easy, as main roads are well maintained. There are very few main roads, so getting lost is not an issue. We also found fuel to be relatively cheap.

After our time in Jordan, we then flew to Bangkok, Thailand, which cost $1,023.97. I must say here, although we had to take 3 different airplanes to make it to Thailand, it was actually pretty pleasant. We flew on Etihad and SriLankan Airlines. I have not experienced airline services like this in a long time. They had free drinks, including alcohol, and meals and free movies. It felt luxurious compared to some of the other budget airlines we have flown while in Europe.

Our total expenditures for local transportation were $87.27. Jerusalem has an excellent tram and bus system. Each ticket costs $6.90 shekels and is good for 90 minutes. But beware, don’t make the mistake we did. You can purchase multiple tickets at a time, but they are only good for the day they are purchased on. Also, if you get on the bus first, you cannot use the tram tickets for the bus. However the bus ticket works for the tram and the tram ticket will work for the bus if you validated it on the tram first and it is still within the 90-minute time frame. Did you get that?

Lodging

Our next biggest expenditure was for lodging. The total cost for lodging was $1,859.91. This is a lot more than we typically spend on lodging. Most of the time we will try to find apartments to rent, as apartments tend to be cheaper and help us save on food costs. However due to difficulty finding affordable apartment rentals while in Israel and Jordan, we stayed in hotels. We also found the lodgings in Israel, especially in Jerusalem, to be incredibly expensive and basic for the amount of money spent.

While Kiveri, Greece we stayed in a lovely house along the Argolic Gulf, which cost us $411 for 10 days. We then spent two nights in a hotel in Delphi, Greece for a total of $149.60 and one night in a hotel in Athens for a total of $43.62. We then spent 4 nights in a guesthouse in Jerusalem for $350.72. The guesthouse included breakfast. We spent 2 nights in a hotel in Eilat, Israel for a total of $139.83. We then spent 1 night in a hotel in Aqaba for a total of $49.35.

View from our apartment in Kiveri

Sunset Eilat Israel

We spent 5 nights in Wadi Musa (Petra) for a total of $300.33. Breakfast and dinner were included in the cost. We then splurged and spent 2 nights at the Dead Sea in a 5-star luxury resort for a total of $283. A word to the wise here, always read the fine print. Initially it looked like the room at the Dead Sea would cost $100 a night, however, at checkout this bloomed to $141.50 per night. We also made the mistake of using our credit card. We have rarely used our credit card since leaving, preferring to pay with cash. However we were running low on money and decided to put it on our credit card instead. We made the mistake of having the hotel convert the charge to USD and they gave us a terrible exchange rate.

Floating in the Dead Sea

Sunset Dead Sea

After the Dead Sea, we spent one night in Madaba, Jordan before flying out to Bangkok. Our hotel cost $62.04 and it also included breakfast. While in Bangkok, we rented an apartment for a week. Two of the nights are reflected on this month’s budget for a total of $59.42.

The pool at our apartment in Bangkok, Thailand

We also had $10.60 in miscellaneous cost for laundry while in Jerusalem.

Food

Our next biggest expenditure was for food for a total of $775.50. We spent $432.11 on groceries and $343.39 for dining out. Our cost for dining out was higher this month, since we spent the majority of our time in hotels. We found several hotels that included breakfast, which helped offset our food costs.

Souvlaki

Sydney enjoying ice cream and waffles

Feta with olive oil

All inclusive

We added a new category this month, as I was not sure where to include our time in Wadi Rum in our budget. During our time in Wadi Rum, we spent 2 nights in the desert on a jeep/camel trek and sleeping in a Bedouin camp. The total cost was $423. Although this was expensive, it has been one of my favorite experiences since leaving on our around the world adventure. My only regret is we did not spend longer in Wadi Rum.

Wadi Rum Jordan

Stars in the night Wadi Rum

Camels Wadi Rum

Entrance Fees

We spent a total of $364.59 on entrance fees. This included seeing Mycenae, Olympia, Lerna, Tyrine and Delphi in Greece, the City of David, Church of Ascension, Israel Museum, and walking the ramparts of Jerusalem. We also went to the Coral Beach Reef in Eilat, Israel and while in Jordan, we saw Petra, Church of the Map, and the Archeology Park. By far the most expensive site we visited in January was Petra. A 4-day pass cost us a total of $169.20. Despite the expense, it was well worth it. Petra is very large and really needs at least 2 to 3 days to be able to see it without exhausting yourself.

Mycenea

Olympia

Delphi

The ramparts Jerusalem

Petra

Church of the Map

The other place that we found to be expensive, but still worth seeing was the Israel Museum. It cost us $35.82. The Israel museum houses some of the Dead Sea scrolls and also has an amazing archeology collection.

Dead Sea Scroll

Ancient Mummies

The only place we regretted going this month was to Coral Beach Reef reserve. I am sure it is fantastic place. However, due to limited time, we did not go on an ideal day. The day was really windy making the water very choppy. It was difficult to snorkel, as the snorkel gear that we had did not have a one-way valve. Jason and Sydney got a mouth full of salt water. It was also very difficult to swim in the swells.

Miscellaneous

Our total expenditures under miscellaneous were $107.21. This including shipping a box full of journals home, a gift, and playing air hockey in Eilat.

Visa

We did not have to pay for a visa for Jordan as we came across the border at Aqaba. Apparently, they are trying to increase tourism to Aqaba, so they are issuing free visas. However upon exiting Israel we were surprised by an exit tax of $89.11

Communication

Our total expenditures under communication were $33.56. This includes the cost for postcards and stamps.

Entertainment

For entertainment, our total expenditures were $25.16. This included a boat ride in Nafplio to the fort in the harbor and a walking tour in Jerusalem. The boat ride was okay, but would I probably not pay for this again.

Lessons Learned

Although we enjoyed seeing the sites of Israel, if were to do this again we would have stayed longer in Jordan and less time in Israel. Both are expensive, but Israel by far was much more expensive. Your money will buy a lot nicer accommodations in Jordan versus Israel.

We absolutely loved our time in Wadi Rum and wished we had spent several more days in the Bedouin camp. It was well worth the cost.

Always read the small print when booking a hotel. Also if you are using a credit card don’t have the hotel convert it into USD. The exchange rate will likely be very poor.

Don’t be afraid to rent a car in Jordan. Driving in Jordan is easy with great roads and the gas was the cheapest we have seen since leaving on our around the world trip.

Sometimes budgets are just that, a budget. Sometimes it is okay to splurge.

Despite our budget woes this month, we saw some amazing places and had a wonderful time. However, it really goes to show the slower you travel the cheaper the costs.

Comments

We are just finishing up 6 months in SE Asia and heading home to Canada at the end of the month. I wondered where and how you find apartments to rent, particularly for less than a month? During this trip, which focused mainly on Thsiland, I tried to find them but did not succeed even once! The only real source I found was Airbnb and they were far more expensive than hotels.

While in Europe we used several sites to find our apartments including Airbnb, Sabbaticalhomes, Homeaway, VRBO and Ownersdirect. We usually try to stay longer in one place, as people are much more willing to give a better deal the longer you stay. However now that we are in SE Asia we have not had much luck with these sites outside of Bangkok. While in Koh Phangan we booked a hotel for 3 days and then once we arrived we walked around until we were able to find a bungalow with a kitchen for a reasonable price.

It must be bitter sweet finishing up your adventure. I hope that you have a fabulous rest of the month and safe travels.

I will make note of those sites for next winter! We are looking forward to going home for the summer right now. We spent a few weeks on both Koh Samui and Ko Tao but missed Koh Panang entirely, due to very rough seas which just didn’t seem worth the extra time on the ferry. Maybe next time… enjoy:-)

As usual, I love it! Thanks for sharing all of this. Picking up from the Bangkok portion of your adventure, we will likely follow in some of your footsteps in late July. We will have to save Jordan for another time, but we will get there one day.

How I love your blog! I love your budget posts – this really helps a lot. We will definitely be doing Jordan and perhaps Greece (although we will be coming from SE Asia and up Africa). Thank you very much! Michelle in B.C